Ep. 25.1Quod ad duōs amīcōs nostrōs pertinet, dīversā viā eundum est;As far as our two friends are concerned, we must go by different paths; Ep. 25.1alterīus enim vitia ēmendanda, alterīus frangenda sunt.for the faults of the one must be corrected, those of the other broken. Ep. 25.1Ūtar lībertāte tōtā.I shall use complete frankness. Ep. 25.1Nōn amō illum, nisi offendō.I do not love him unless I offend him. Ep. 25.1"Quid ergō?"'What then?' Ep. 25.1inquis, "quadrāgēnārium pūpillum cōgitās sub tūtēlā tuā continēre?you say, 'do you intend to keep a forty-year-old ward under your guardianship? Ep. 25.1Respice aetātem eius iam dūram et intractābilem.Consider his age, already hardened and unmanageable. Ep. 25.1Nōn potest refōrmārī;He cannot be reshaped; Ep. 25.1tenera finguntur."it is soft things that are moulded.' Ep. 25.2An prōfectūrus sim nesciō.Whether I shall succeed, I do not know. Ep. 25.2Mālō successum mihi quam fidem dēesse.I would rather lack success than loyalty. Ep. 25.2Nec dēspērāverīs etiam diūtinōs aegrōs posse sānārī, sī contrā intemperantiam steteris, sī multa invītōs et facere coēgeris et patī.And you should not despair that even long-standing invalids can be cured, if you stand firm against their intemperance, if you force them to do and to endure many things against their will.
Ep. 25.2Nē dē alterō quidem satis fīdūciae habeō, exceptō eō, quod adhūc peccāre ērubēscit.Not even about the other have I enough confidence, except in this, that he still blushes at doing wrong. Ep. 25.2Nūtriendus est hic pudor, quī quamdiū in animō eius dūrāverit, aliquis erit bonae speī locus.This sense of shame must be nourished, and as long as it lasts in his mind, there will be some room for good hope. Ep. 25.2Cum hōc veterānō parcius agendum putō, nē in dēspērātiōnem suī veniat.With this veteran, I think, we must deal more sparingly, so that he does not come to despair of himself. Ep. 25.3Nec ūllum tempus adgrediendī fuit melius quam hoc, dum interquiēscit, dum ēmendātō similis est.Nor has there been any better time for tackling him than now, while he is taking a rest, while he looks like a reformed man. Ep. 25.3Aliīs haec intermissiō eius inposuit;This pause of his has deceived others; Ep. 25.3mihi verba nōn dat.me it does not fool. Ep. 25.3Exspectō cum magnō faenore vitia reditūra, quae nunc sciō cessāre, nōn dēesse.I expect his faults to return with heavy interest, faults which I know are now idle, not absent.
Ep. 25.3Inpendam huic reī diēs et utrum possit aliquid agī an nōn possit, experiar.I shall devote days to this matter and find out whether anything can be done or not. Ep. 25.4Tū nōbīs tē, ut facis, fortem praestā et sarcinās contrahe.As for you, show yourself brave to us, as you are doing, and pack up your baggage. Ep. 25.4Nihil ex hīs, quae habēmus, necessārium est.None of the things we have is necessary. Ep. 25.4Ad lēgem nātūrae revertāmur;Let us return to the law of nature; Ep. 25.4dīvitiae parātae sunt.riches are ready to hand. Ep. 25.4Aut grātuītum est, quō egēmus, aut vīle;What we need is either free or cheap; Ep. 25.4pānem et aquam nātūra dēsīderat Nēmō ad haec pauper est, intrā quae quisquis dēsīderium suum clūsit, cum ipsō Iove dē fēlīcitāte contendat, ut ait Epicūrus, cuius aliquam vōcem huic epistulae involvam.nature craves bread and water. No one is poor in respect of these things, and whoever has confined his desire within them may compete in happiness with Jupiter himself, as Epicurus says, some saying of whose I shall wrap up in this letter. Ep. 25.5"Sīc fac," inquit, "omnia, tamquam spectet Epicūrus."'Do everything,' he says, 'as if Epicurus were watching.' Ep. 25.5Prōdest sine dubiō custōdem sibi inposuisse et habēre, quem respiciās, quem interesse cōgitātiōnibus tuīs iūdicēs.It is without doubt useful to have set a guardian over oneself, and to have someone you can look back to, whom you consider present at your thoughts.
Ep. 25.5Hoc quidem longē magnificentius est, sīc vīvere tamquam sub alicuius bonī virī ac semper praesentis oculīs, sed ego etiam hōc contentus sum, ut sīc faciās, quaecumque faciēs, tamquam spectet aliquis;It is indeed far nobler to live as if under the eyes of some good man who is always present, but I am content even with this, that you do whatever you do as if someone were watching; Ep. 25.5omnia nōbīs mala sōlitūdō persuādet.solitude prompts us to every evil. Ep. 25.6Cum iam prōfēceris tantum, ut sit tibi etiam tuī reverentia, licēbit dīmittās paedagōgum;When you have progressed so far that you have respect even for yourself, you will be allowed to dismiss your tutor; Ep. 25.6interim aliquōrum tē auctōritāte custōdī, aut Catō ille sit aut Scīpiō aut Laelius aut tālis, cuius interventū perditī quoque hominēs vitia supprimerent, dum tē efficis eum, cum quō peccāre nōn audeās.meanwhile guard yourself with the authority of certain men, whether it be the famous Cato or Scipio or Laelius, or someone of the kind at whose arrival even abandoned men would suppress their vices, while you make yourself the sort of person in whose company you would not dare to do wrong.
Ep. 25.6Cum hoc effēceris, et aliqua coeperit apud tē tuī esse dignātiō, incipiam tibi permittere, quod īdem suādet Epicūrus: "Tunc praecipuē in tē ipse sēcēde, cum esse cōgeris in turbā."When you have achieved this, and some esteem for yourself has begun to dwell with you, I shall begin to allow you what Epicurus likewise advises: 'Withdraw into yourself above all when you are forced to be in a crowd.' Ep. 25.7Dissimilem tē fierī multīs oportet.You must become unlike the many. Ep. 25.7Dum tibi tūtum nōn est ad tē recēdere, circumspice singulōs;While it is not safe for you to withdraw into yourself, look around at each person in turn; Ep. 25.7nēmō est, cui nōn satius sit cum quōlibet esse quam sēcum.there is no one who would not be better off with anyone at all than with himself. Ep. 25.7"Tunc praecipuē in tē ipse sēcēde, cum esse cōgeris in turbā";'Withdraw into yourself above all when you are forced to be in a crowd'; Ep. 25.7sī bonus vir, sī quiētus, sī temperāns.that is, if you are a good man, a quiet one, a self-controlled one. Ep. 25.7Aliōquīn in turbam tibi ā tē recēdendum est;Otherwise you must withdraw from yourself into the crowd; Ep. 25.7istīc malō virō propius es.there you are too close to a bad man.
Ep. 25.7Valē.Farewell.